Tuesday, November 19th, 2019

Today marks the third Tuesday in a row that I took one of the boys to Hilton for a basketball game.  Tonight Maxwell was the lucky kid, and he saw the Cyclones defeat the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss, 73-45.  This is the 12th time that I have taken Maxwell to a men's basketball game.  He was a good boy for the entire game tonight.  He didn't fall asleep or anything, and he was even participating in some of the cheering / chanting.  We split a popcorn, and he even got another picture with Cy!

As for the game, the Cyclones were firmly in control from about halfway through the opening period onward.  I would say that Tyrese Haliburton was the player of the game, as he scored 12 points to go along with 9 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Solomon Young (14) and Prentiss Nixon (13).  Southern Miss as a team went 0-16 from three point range, and generally they did not look very good. 

Our first scoreboard picture of the season.  Cyclones 73, Golden Eagles 45.

Hi Cy!

Sunday, November 17th, 2019

Today has been a lazy day hanging around the house, mostly because I'm hungover from partying a little too hard last night.  The reason I was so eager to celebrate yesterday was Iowa State's down-to-the-wire 23-21 victory over the #22 Texas Longhorns. 

I had originally planned to have a big tailgate for a bunch of my cousins for the game, but for one reason or another all that could attend were Mark and David. The grass tailgate lots ended up being closed yesterday due to melting snow, so we just tailgated at my house instead before the game.  We had a "Beefy" menu, since the game was against the Longhorns.  I grilled hamburgers, t-bone steaks, made some all beef little smokies in BBQ sauce, and made mashed potatoes with beef gravy.  Quite the meal.

As far as the game goes, it seemed like Iowa State was the better team for most of the day.  The Cyclones out-gained the Longhorns in total yardage, 466 to 327.  Iowa State built a 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Texas managed to come back to take a 21-20 lead with a pair of touchdown passes.  On Iowa State's last possession, they drove down the field and milked the clock to set up a game-winning 36 yard field goal from Connor Assalley.  His kick split the uprights and sent the fans at Jack Trice into a frenzy. 

Afterwards, we walked to the bars and had a few drinks at Welch Ave Station, Mickey's, Cy's Roost, Cafe B, Sips, and Paddy's. 

This was the third time that I have seen Iowa State play Texas in football.  The previous times were a win back in 2015 and a loss in 2011. 

Tuesday, November 12th, 2019

Tonight I took Maxwell with me to watch the Cyclones defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies, 70-52.  Prior to the game, Maxwell had his heart set on having a Clone Cone, but it was such a cold walk into Hilton that we decided to go with popcorn instead :)  Anyways, tonight marks the 11th time that I have taken Maxwell to a Cyclone men's basketball game.  The last time I took him to a game was against Kansas State last year.  One fun thing about tonight's game was that Maxwell was able to take a nice picture with Cy!

The Cyclones began the game ice cold from the field, and Northern Illinois actually led at halftime 34-31.  Iowa State was especially bad from the 3-point line tonight, making only 3 of 25 attempts.  Iowa State was able to clamp down on defense in the second half, which ended up being the difference in the game.  I would say that Solomon Young was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he scored 15 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.  Rasir Bolton was the only other Cyclone in double figures scoring, with 17 points. 

Tonight is the third time that I have witnessed the Cyclones play (and defeat) the Huskies.  Previous games were back in 2017 and 2013. 

Maxwell had such a nice smile with Cy.  He wasn't even afraid to stand next to him all bu himself!

Here we are in our seats in section 216.  Notice my gradually growing beard... I'm doing "No Shave November" with the guys at work.

Tuesday, November 5th, 2019

Tonight I took Nolan with me to watch the Iowa State men's basketball season opening victory over the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State, 110-74.  If that team sounds familiar, it's because tonight marks the fourth time that I have seen the Cyclones play (and defeat) the Delta Devils.  Previous games were back in 2016, 2014, and in 2011.  Mississippi Valley State plays in the SWAC conference, and they are from Itta Bena, Mississippi. 

Anyways, the Cyclones basically dominated the entire game, as was expected.  It's hard to really get a feel for how the Cyclones will do this year yet, because the competition tonight was not exactly stellar.  There are quite a few new faces to get used to.  I would say that the player of the game for ISU was Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 12 points, dished out 14 assists, collected 7 rebounds, and had 6 steals.  It seemed like he was everywhere tonight, and he affected the game in a number of ways.  Haliburton was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Michael Jacobson (20), Prentiss Nixon (16), Solomon Young (12), Zion Griffin (11), Tre Jackson (11), and George Conditt (10).  Wow, it's crazy to have seven players score in double-digits. 

I believe that tonight is the 17th game that Nolan has been to.  The last time I took him to a men's basketball game was vs TCU last season.  This was also the second time that Nolan has seen Iowa State play Mississippi Valley State, as I took him to the 2016 match-up.  Nolan seemed pretty tired tonight, as he actually slept in my lap for the entire second half of the game. 

Here we are in our seats (Section 216, row 16, seats 7&8).  Nolan really wanted a Dr. Pepper... 

The opening tip-off of the 2019-2020 basketball season.

Saturday, October 26th, 2019

Happy homecoming Cyclone Nation!

Today I helped with the ISU Alumni Band for the halftime show, which marks the sixth year in a row that I have pushed LaVonne on the field while she plays her clarinet.  It was fun to see the stadium from ground level and really be part of the action.  It does make for a long day though going through the morning practice routine at the Bergstrom practice facility, taking group pictures with the Alumni band, going over to the Scheman building for lunch and the Alumni band meeting, doing the spirit walk to the stadium, and then performing at halftime.  As for the halftime show, it was fairly simple.  We "swung" onto the field between the north 25 and 30 yard lines.  They band played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", along with the usual ISU fight song.  We marched off, and that was it.

As for the game, it was a disappointing loss for the Cyclones, 27-34 to Oklahoma State.  Iowa State came into the game ranked #23 in the country and was about a 10 point favorite.  The Cyclone defense gave up 3 big-play touchdowns of 50 yards or more in the first half, which was hard to overcome.  I have still never seen Iowa State defeat the Cowboys in football, one of only two Big 12 teams with that distinction.  Today was the third time that I have seen Iowa State play Oklahoma State in football, with the other games being in 2015 and 2013. 

Wednesday, October 16th, 2019

Tonight I took Nolan with me to watch the ISU women's volleyball team defeat the TCU Horned Frogs in straight sets, 25-23, 25-23, and 25-12.  Today's game was the "Pink Match" for breast cancer awareness.  They handed out pink pom-poms to everyone, which Nolan thought was pretty cool.  We also split a popcorn to keep him happy.  The first two sets of the match seemed to be very close and hard fought, and ISU was fortunate to win both.  Then in the third set it seemed like TCU almost gave up, as the Cyclones cruised to an easy victory.

Nolan did get to take his picture with Cy, which was fun.  This is the second volleyball game of the season that I've been to, as I also took Maxwell to the home opener against South Dakota.

Nolan and CY!!

Here we are having fun with out pink pom-poms.

A view of the action against TCU.  The Cyclones are wearing pink, while the Horned Frogs are in black.

Saturday, October 5th, 2019

Today I went to the Iowa State football game vs TCU, where the Cyclones defeated the Horned Frogs, 49-24. 

The game was originally scheduled for 11:00 this morning, but due to heavy rain the kickoff was pushed back to 1:00.  That just made for more time to tailgate!  I enjoyed myself with the usual group (Kyle Perkins, Dan Becker, Ryan Butler, Chris Schroeder...).  The tailgate involved three canopy tents lined up with everyone huddled underneath them trying to stay out of the rain.  All of the grass lots were closed, so we were parked over in the paved section of vet med.  Originally I had wanted to bring Nolan to this game, but with all of the rain forecast for today it seemed best not to.

Once the game started, the weather had actually turned quite nice.  I sat with Brian and Sullivan Gleason, who had made the trip up from St. Louis for the game.  We had pretty good seats, between the north 30 and 35 yard lines on the west side, in section 7.  Brock Purdy played well for Iowa State, accounting for 2 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns of his own.  The Cyclones also had a defensive touchdown by Eyioma Uwazurike, who scooped up a fumble on the 1 yard line, after the TCU quarterback was sacked by O'Rien Vance. 

Today marks the 4th football game that I have attended between Iowa State and TCU.  The Cyclones also won back in 2017, while TCU prevailed in 2015 and in the Houston Bowl back in 2005.